Ryan and Ray

1. Ryan's biggest most important romantic relationship in the novel is with a girl named Tracy that he met when he was working at a university, they started talking one day when Ryan offered to type up some notes for her, after that they had a very open relationship where they were both free to see other people, Tracy was with Ryan when they went to South Korea to teach little kids English, however the trip was very hard on their relationship and the ended up splitting apart when they got home, they were apart for a couple of months but they got back together and eventually got married.

2. Work

2.1. Ray learned how to play the piano when he was a little kid from an old man in his village and knew instantly that he wanted to do that for the rest of his life

2.2. Ryan didn't really know what he wanted to do for a living when he was a kid, he had a few jobs during his teenage years that included being a waiter, and driving a forklift at a pool factory

2.3. As an adult Ray became very successful very fast and became one of the biggest names in the music industry, while this fame got him a lot of money and happiness, it also got him involved in some pretty serious drugs that almost got him killed or sent to prison.

2.4. During Ryan's adulthood he spent a lot of time in school, he spent many years working on his graduates degree and while he was doing this he got the opportunity to go to South Korea and teach English to little kids.

3. Family

3.1. Ryan has a mom and a dad and he has a late little brother

3.2. Ray has a mom and a late little brother

3.3. Ryan still has contact with his parents

3.4. Ray hasn't seen his mother since he was a little kid

3.5. Ryan was pretty close with his father

3.6. Ray never knew his father

3.7. Ray's little brother fell into a pot of water and drowned when he was a kid

3.8. Ryan's little brother killed himself when he was in his early twenties

4. Friends

4.1. Ray's only childhood friend was his little brother

4.2. Ryan had a number of friends when he was a kid, but it doesn't seem like he keeps in contact with them after he moves away from home

5. Relationships

5.1. Ryan had a few different romantic relationships throughout the novel, he had a girlfriend in high school that he was with for a couple months, once he went to university his roommate was a deaf girl named Jane, they were friends for awhile but after a very stressful night for Ryan he was comforted by Jane when he got home and that was the start of their relationship

5.2. Ray had relationships with a lot of women throughout his career most of which he met through the music industry, or at the clubs he was playing at, he eventually got married and had a son and a daughter, but he also had a child with his mistress who he met when she was on tour with him